Supporting the emergence of a franchise

Discover how the dramatic optimization of a B2C network’s advertising campaigns helped finance its rapid growth and kickstart the overhaul of its overall ecosystem.
  • From 3 to 6 retail locations in just a few months
  • CPA cut in half as early as the first month
  • €7: cost per lead (CPL) achieved after 5 months (vs. €50 initially)

The Challenge: The Agency’s “Crash Test” for Immediate Acquisition

This new client is a B2C network operating in the highly dynamic automotive maintenance and equipment sector. In the midst of its seed phase, the brand was experiencing rapid growth (expanding from 3 to 6 retail locations in just a few months).

Initially, acquisition campaigns were managed in-house by the network’s teams, but they had plateaued with a cost per lead (CPL) of around €50.

Before entrusting Firstcom with the brand’s overall digital strategy, senior management wanted to “test” us in a high-stakes scenario: take over the existing campaigns and prove our ROI in the short term.

Streamlining Campaigns: Driving Down the Cost of Acquisition (The Run)

For a fledgling chain, every euro invested must translate into immediate revenue to reassure new retail locations. We therefore completely overhauled the campaign structure to align it with the requirements of the advertising algorithm and the realities of the catchment areas.

The results of this optimized approach were remarkable:

The first-month test

In just 30 days, our restructuring cut the customer acquisition cost in half, from €50 to approximately €25.

Performance at 5 months

Audience targeting and continuous optimization drove the cost per lead down/dt_highlight] to an exceptional level of €7 (a reduction to one-seventh of the initial cost).

Although this figure is expected to stabilize naturally as the campaigns expand in the future, it immediately validates the profitability of the acquisition model for future network members.

From Operational Confidence to Overall Structuring (The Build)

This is the very definition of supporting a rapidly growing network. By generating a flood of highly profitable leads, we have earned the absolute trust of management and provided a compelling argument to convince new franchisees to join the brand.

Today, the network is entering its phase of digital maturity. Building on the success of the acquisition phase (the Run), we are now embarking on the structuring phase (the Build): a complete overhaul of the website. The goal of this new technical architecture will be to optimize the organic conversion rate (SEO) and prepare the brand for the new visibility challenges posed by artificial intelligence (GEO).

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